New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: Report of the Working Groups on Best Practices

Abstract

The most effective and ethical prosecutor’s office is one where the leader sets a tone of ethical behavior, then hires and trains lawyers with good character and good judgment. In November 2009, the Symposium, New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works?, convened at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law to explore and identify the best practices that lead to such an office. Participants in the Symposium - including representatives from state and federal prosecutors’ offices, defense lawyers, judges, legal academics, cognitive scientists, social psychologists, doctors, as well as members of the medical and corporate risk management fields - took an inter-professional approach to the core issues affecting prosecutors’ offices from around the country.

To structure the discussion in advance of the Symposium approximately seventy-five participants were split into six Working Groups, each meeting to discuss a core issue. Each group had a reporter and a discussion leader who circulated to the participants short papers setting forth the issues and alternative views. During the Symposium, the groups met for five hours to discuss the issues and to try to reach a consensus about particular practices. This Article presents the findings of each of the six Working Groups.

Part I discusses prosecutorial disclosure obligations and practices. Part II discusses the disclosure process. Part III discusses training and supervision. Part IV discusses systems and culture. Parts V and VI discuss internal and external regulation, respectively.

Keywords: Brady, prosecutorial disclosure, prosecutorial ethics, prosecutorial misconduct